Ugly Easter for Chesterfield apartment residents

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CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WTVR) In the middle of the day, crashing through a living room wall: that’s how thieves apparently broke into several Chesterfield apartments over the holiday weekend.

The thieves stole whatever they could find, including a four-legged friend.

"They come through the storage shed and kicked a hole in my wall," said James Gambaro, who said he never expected such an awful Easter surprise. “We went to dinner and went shopping, then came home and walked in the door, and it was trashed."

At the Regency Lake Apartments off Meadowdale Boulevard Monday, Gambaro said his belongings and his puppy are gone with the wind. "TV's, game consoles, jewelry, even my dog is missing," he said.

His four-month old English Bulldog named “Diesel” hasn’t been seen since the Easter break-in. Gambaro says he knows he didn’t run away because his leash is also missing. “Material stuff we can replace in time, man,” said Gambaro. “But it's like someone stole my child with my dog gone."

Gambaro says police told him he was one of a half-dozen that had their apartments broken into this past weekend .

Chesterfield Police confirm three, adding investigators are in the early stages, but believe they could be linked. “To know I work hard to pay my bills,” said Gambaro. “[And]they come in and just take and it's gone."

Gambaro says whoever the thief or thieves are, they’re pretty stealthy. They avoided his big fish tank and even climbed over it without breaking it. It took some skill, he says, but adds it’s a shame he can’t say the same for the repair job to his wall. “They slapped busted plywood over it and it looks like crap," he said.

An apartment manager said she’ll alert other residents with a note. If you saw anything suspicious over the weekend or have information about the missing dog “Diesel” call Crimesolvers at 748-0660.